Charles - Dedham Loop - June 19, 2021

Al at the put in

I knew Justin would be coming down for Father’s Day, so I wanted to do an early morning trip. Al, Bill and I decided to do the Dedham Loop on the Charles River.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 80 miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a number of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the section from Medfield to Natick, and the Bays Region from Natick to Wellesley.

Bill in the stern

About 5-miles below the Cochrane Dam and the Bays Region, the Charles makes a 5-mile loop around Dedham. In 1635, settlers dug a half-mile ditch across the top of the loop to allow greater cultivation of hay. The water flow from the ditch resulted in a natural peninsula, creating Dedham Island (Riverdale). The ditch helped to alleviate flooding and improve meadow grasslands.

We put in at the Dedham Parks & Recreation Building (269 Common Street, Dedham). The loop can be run clockwise (upstream in the Charles, downstream in the ditch) or counterclockwise (downstream in the Charles and upstream in the ditch). We went counterclockwise and enjoyed the easy downstream current. The river was at 1.2 feet, 184 cfs on the Dover gage, and we had no problem paddling up the ditch. In higher water it could be difficult to paddle up the ditch against the current.

Up the ditch

Links:

My Pictures

Dedham Loop Water Trail Map
Charles River - Dover Gage

Trashpaddler Blog